Title: Smallville: Season Ten
Smallville Season 10 is out on DVD and Blu-ray alongside the Complete Season 1-10 Box Set on 31st October 2011
Emerging from his darkest hour, only to find the path to his destiny blocked by ghosts from the past, Clark finds himself tempted toward darkness at every turn by shadows in the present. Despite insurmountable odds, will Clark be powerful enough to step into the light and claim his rightful place as Earth's mightiest protector? Taking flight in its tenth and final season, this modern retelling of a hero's legendary origins continues to blend realism, action, heart and humour as Clark Kent soars toward claiming his birthright.
I’ve not been an avid fan of Smallville although I’ve seen several episodes over the years from various seasons and always been impressed. I recently watched the boxset of Superman films which re-ignited my interest in the man of steel. I have a friend who is a huge fan of the show and he told me that many regular fans of the show felt that it had got a bit repetitive around seasons 6 and 7 but that seasons 8 and 9 had really picked up the pace and excitement again.
Season 10 however is the final season and it’s clear that the producers of the show were keen to really go out on a genuinely big high. I was a little perturbed by watching the final season of Smallville as a reviewer because a lot of storylines had come and gone in the preceding 9 seasons that I wasn’t fully aware of, although I did a little bit of background reading on forums and superman sites to catch myself up and familiarise myself with some of the ancillary characters. Of course season 10 would still be introducing new characters and the opening episode "Lazarus" did just that, with (not much more than a glimpse) the new bad guy for the final season - Darkseid. But Darkseid was to remain in the shadows, off screen for much of the season – his evil work being undertaken mostly by his minions, which reminded me of the character of Glory from season 5 (or was it 6?) of Buffy. I must admit I’d never heard of the character of Darkseid previously. So with much of the storylines involving Darkseid a little less than spectacular who else was going to do battle with Superman in the final season of Smallville? Rick Flag and the Suicide Squad were working to unmask vigilantes – somewhat like in the X-Men films. And Slade Wilson did some damage but there was nothing to rival the inclusion of villains such as General Zod or Lex Luthor (who only pops up near the very end) who had appeared regularly in previous seasons. Was this a mistake on the part of the writers not to include a more palpable villain? Or was it their intention to focus more on the love story between Clark Kent and Lois Lane? If this was their intention then I think that they have done an admirable job, I certainly enjoyed the storylines between Clark and Lois and felt that they were heartfelt and poignant thanks to strong writing and believable acting from Tom Welling and Erica Durance.
There were several exciting fan-boy guest appearances from other DC universe characters such as Hawkman, Aquaman and Brainiac 5 plus appearances of Booster Gold and Blue Beetle… again characters that I was previously unfamiliar with… but no doubt exciting inclusions for long time fans. Plus the unexpected return of Lionel Luthor.
I must admit to have found reviewing this final season of Smallville a difficult task. Without prior knowledge of the show and characters and their storylines I’m ill-equipped to give more than an overview of the show and unable to give detailed analysis that fans of the series deserve. What I can say without fear of contradiction however is that the acting across the board is of a high standard especially from Tom Welling and that the production and direction are very impressive for a TV show. I feel that there were times when the writing dipped throughout the season and it’s clear that after more than 200 episodes that the series needed to come to a close, primarily because Clark Kent is getting older and storylines would begin to cross over with other previously written Superman lore and secondly because there must at some point be an ended if only to sidestep the law of diminishing returns with a TV show. All TV shows have to end at some point and anything that goes on too long simply runs into the problem of going past its peak. I feel that Smallville has go out on a high and that fans will be pleased and contented to have enjoyed 10 seasons of Smallville but know that now was a good time to bring Clark Kent’s early adventures to a close.
Season 10 of Smallville shows Clark Kent on his way to becoming the man of steel.
Special Features
• "Lazarus" Commentary With Writer/Producers Holly Denderson and Don Whitehead and actors Allsion Mack and Cassidy Freeman
• "How Do You Do" Music Video
• Deleted Scenes
• "Dominion" Commentary With Executive Producers Brian Peterson and Kelly Souders and actors Justin Hartley and Callum Blue
• Featurette: Back in the Jacket: A Smallville Homecoming
• Featurette: The Father Becomes the Son
Smallville Season 10 is out on DVD and Blu-ray alongside the Complete Season 1-10 Box Set on 31st October 2011
